How to Plan What to Automate in Your Service and Security Processes

Automation is only a benefit when it is implemented correctly and for the right reasons. If done poorly, it can even create more work for your team. Here, we walk you through a step-by-step process on how to determine what to automate and how best to do it.

Automation has become essential for businesses to boost team members’ efficiency. Good automation allows workers to get past tedious tasks and distractions to focus on the most important priorities. However, ineffective automation processing can create less productivity, not more.

Here are some of the best options for security teams to implement automation better:

Align Any New Automation With the Business

Carefully consider the company’s vision and business practices. This will make it easier for security companies to select integrated software that perfectly fits their business structure. The software can also help create a snapshot of the business, including components such as:

Get Team Members on the Same Page

A common situation among security teams involves individuals working on automated systems without communicating with the team the direction they’re going. This can result in some messy situations. It’s important to maintain central communication of the team’s priorities.

Set Clear Goals

A security team must evaluate the big picture and problems it’s attempting to solve through
automation. Where do the team’s processes have gaps? Where are the costs high? Where are improvements required? When making this wish list, don’t set limits. You can always scale back if you find the ROI doesn’t pan out in latter stages of planning.

Be Mindful of What Makes the Biggest Impact

When determining such tasks to automate, weigh which automation would see the biggest reduction in risk, effort, and time? Security professionals can think of such tasks as dominos. They can consider whether automating one gigantic task or several small tasks will produce a significant impact in terms of efficiency.

Make sure the team is asking the right questions, including:

• What daily tasks require low brainpower?
• Which procedures are most likely to create mistakes?
• How can the security team streamline its work?

Create a Plan to Build and Implement Automation

Determine the steps needed to develop and implement the automation. The steps a security team takes can create value and improve the workflow. It’s critical to break down each task and determine its goal. For example, can it become 100% automated, or will manual processes be required?

Evaluate the Impact of Automation

Here’s where teams factor in the ROI and identify any extra maintenance new automation requires. One option is to review the security team’s automation each quarter. Teams can determine how impactful the implemented ideas have been to the business.

Get the team on the same path to avoid possible pitfalls and get leadership involved in automated tasks and idea generation. Involving the security team in the process may motivate them to automate other security tasks automatically.